Toy parachute



Sept. 4, 1956 w LAMB 2,761,242

I TOY PARACHUTE Filed June 8, 1953 INVENTOR.

Alan W. Lui'nb United States Patent TOY PARACHUTE Alan W. Lamb, Missoula, Mont.

Application June 8, 1953, Serial No. 360,073

3 Claims. (Cl. 46-86) This application is concerned with a toy parachute and the manner in which struts or braces giving support to the open parachute are pivotally attached to a post. These struts preclude the parachute from completely closing while the same is ascending and also prevent it from collapsing outwardly while descending.

Some toy parachutes do not have means to maintain the parachute partially open during ascent. Instead of a strut with means to restrict its pivotal movement these toy parachutes may have, for example, a strut, string, a rubber band, or fine wire between the post and the parachute. These latter, during ascent, do not hold the parachute cloth away from the post and partially open. In such a case there is the possibility, upon descending, that the parachute will not be opened sufiicient to be caught by the passing air so as to completely unfold and float down.

It is an object of this invention to have a toy parachute that will positively open upon descending.

Another object is to provide means which will preclude the toy parachute from collapsing outwardly upon descending.

Various other and ancillary objects and advantages of the present invention will, with the foregoing, become apparent from the following description and explanation of the present invention.

The toy parachute comprises a post, rod, tube, or structural member, weighted at one end, a parachute attached near the other end, and a plurality of struts or braces pivotally attached to the post. One end of each strut bends around and passes through the rod while the other end is attached to the parachute, preferably at its periphery. Bends in each strut restrict its pivotal movement so that the parachute is never completely closed, which assures that the parachute will positively open upon descent. Also, these bends are so engineered as to preclude the collapsing outwardly of the parachute.

The invention consists in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 shows a toy parachute constructed to embody the preferred teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged scale fragmentary vertical sectional view detailing the upper end of the parachute.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the unfolded parachute.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged-scale elevational view illustrating the manner in which the root ends of the struts connect with the post.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the structural member drawn to a reduced scale on line 55 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the parachute is projected into the air.

Reference numeral 1 of Fig. 1 indicates the post to which the parachute cloth 2 is attached at or near one 'ice end. At this same end a hook 3 may be connected to this structural member 1 or the member may itself be curved to form a curving bill. This hook or bill is used in conjunction with a slingshot (Fig. 6) to project the toy parachute into the air. Said slingshot comprises a handle 7 having an elastic band 8 such as a rubber band attached near one end so as to have an unobstructed movement of the parachute as the same flies by the handle.

Near the other end of the structural member are fins 4 or stabilizers. During ascent these fins maintain the toy parachute in a straight path while in descent their weight helps to assure that the correct end will descend first. Struts 5 are pivotally attached to rod 1 and are also connected to the parachute 2. Strut 5, between its shoulder 9 and a straight length 11 passing through the post, and as can best be seen from an inspection of Fig. 4, has a diagonal run 12 which causes the shoulder, in one position of the strut, to contact the post. Upon emerging from the post, the terminal end of the wire forming said strut also extends diagonal to the strut and is so disposed that the terminal finger 10 will contact the post in another position of the strut. Shoulder 9 and finger 10, upon coming in contact with structural member 1, restrict the pivotal movement of strut 5. When the parachute is ascending the air rushes past the parachute cloth and tends to force the struts flush against the structural member. In this instance, the fingers 10 come in contact with the post and prevent the struts from being forced against the post. When the parachute reaches the apex of its ascent the weighted end with the fins orientate it and start the parachute descending in a path perpendicular to the earth. Because the parachute is partially open while ascending, upon descending the air rushing past opens it outward. After so opening in the descent the parachute pulls on struts 5 and tends to collapse outwardly, or which is to say, turn inside out. Shoulders 9 in the struts 5 prevent this in that they come into contact with post 1 and preclude the struts from moving upwardly beyond positions normal, to the post. It is of course understood that the struts can properly assume positions out of such normal so long as the parachute descends properly and does not turn inside out.

It is thought that the invention and the manner of its employment will have been clearly understood from the foregoing description of my now-preferred embodiment.

' No limitations are intended other than those which are expressly incorporated in the hereto annexed claims.

What I claim:

1. A toy parachute comprising a rod, a parachute attached to the rod near one end thereof, struts attached to the skirting rim of the parachute and having their root ends connected to the rod for pivotal movement about axes extending transverse to the rod, each of said struts loosely bending partly around, passing transversely through, and again loosely bending partly around the rod; the bends of the struts preventing both a complete outward opening and an inward closing of the parachute.

2. A toy parachute comprising a rod weighted near one end, an outwardly opening parachute attached near the other end of the rod, and struts pivotally attached to the parachute and to the rod, the latter connection being one in which each strut loosely bends partly around, passes loosely transversely through, and again loosely bends partly around the rod, the bends of the struts preventing both a complete outward opening and an inward closing of the parachute.

3. A toy parachute comprising a structural member and struts pivotally connected to the member, each of said struts bending around approximately one-fourth the circumference of the member forming a shoulder, thence extending loosely transversely through the member, and

againv bending around-apgtoximately one-fourth the circumference of the member to form a finger, the shoulder and finger serving as limit stops restricting the longitu dinal pivotal movement of the struts.

Muller June 17, 1879 Varner July 2', 1907 Charles June 18, 1912 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Mar. 1, 1921 

